Swan Hill Bridge Replacement: Decades of Delays and Funding Gaps

For 60 years, the north-west Victorian community of Swan Hill has been patiently waiting for a replacement bridge to cross the Murray River into New South Wales.

The 130-year-old single-lane Swan Hill bridge still stands today, albeit having undergone multiple repairs over the decades in order to meet community needs and safety standards.

In December 2025, however, Transport for NSW declared the bridge was beyond repair and must be "fully removed".

The department said a replacement bridge was yet to be fully funded and was still years away.

Many community members believe the bridge should have been replaced decades ago, when planning first began.

Former Swan Hill Rural City Council mayor and lifelong Swan Hill resident Bill Moar said his father told him in the mid-1960s that the bridge would be replaced in a few years.

"I was driving sheep across [the bridge] … and the bridge started to bounce a bit and I was pretty scared because there was no tail on the bridge those days, it was just cracks," he said.

"You could see down to the water and the bridge is shaking.

"We got the sheep across, and I said to dad, 'Oh, that bridge is pretty shaky, it's not too good'.

The single-lane timber bridge was built in 1896 and originally designed to hold a 16-tonne traction engine.

Many upgrades over the years have allowed it to keep up with traffic and freight demands.

However, current weight restrictions have caused disruptions for many sectors, with growing demand for even heavier loads.

"It's done a marvellous job to get this far," Mr Moar said.

"My poor old dad lived to 95 and passed away last year and talked about getting a new bridge his entire life and never ever saw it … I hope that I live long enough to see it myself."

Discussions for the replacement bridge began in 1966, but disagreements on its alignment, and heritage listings, resulted in delays.

Transport for NSW said a new bridge was forecast for the mid-2030s and would take three years to be constructed.

It would be placed on the existing alignment.

More funding needed

The federal government has committed $60 million of funding towards the project, while the NSW government has contributed a further $7.2 million.

The Victorian government has not yet provided any funding for the project.

Transport for NSW senior manager Joanne Cheshire said more funding was still required from both states.

Murray River Council said once the full build cost was established, it would be better positioned to continue advocating to the NSW government for an appropriate funding contribution towards the project.

Swan Hill Rural City Council is seeking $100 million from the state government to cover Victoria's share of the project.

Mayor Stuart King said he was disappointed funding wasn't allocated in the 2026-27 state budget.

He said the project remained council's number-one advocacy priority ahead of the Victorian election in November.

Cr King said he would seek a commitment leading up to the election to fund Victoria's portion of the project.

"We'll be hoping for a government in Victoria that is supportive of this project, that actually understands the importance of this project to the regional economy, what it means for freight, what it means for transport movements, efficiencies, all of that sort of thing," he said.

"We're in 2026, it should not be that hard to build a bridge over a bit of water.

Impact on local industry

Phil Perryman, chief executive officer of Swanbuild, a portable building manufacturing business in Swan Hill, said his company had difficulty getting homes across the border into NSW.

He said 20 years ago the company could transport homes across the Swan Hill bridge, but not any more.

Delivering a home to Murray Downs, five kilometres away on the NSW side of the border, now means a 300km round trip via Robinvale.

"It's about a four-hour trip for a truck, and a cost of around $4,000–$5,000 per load, and typically a home could be two or three sections," Mr Perryman said.

"That puts 15 grand onto a building just to get it across the river.

"When we are talking about housing costs and cost of living, well, it's just another iron in the fire."

Similar issues are faced by one of the region's biggest transport companies, Pickering Transport Group.

Managing director Daryl Pickering said safety and the weight restrictions were the major concerns for the company.

"You have to be very conscious that [two heavy vehicles] can't fit on the bridge at the one time," he said.

"So, even if one's following the other, one has to stop and wait, which can give the impression to vehicles on the other side that they can go."

Mr Pickering said weight restrictions prevented trucks from crossing the border fully loaded and in all combinations.

"With higher mass limits, that we're accredited to load to, we then can't load to that and travel across the bridge," he said.

"We're having to take a trailer over, disconnect it, drive back, hook up to the second trailer, drive it back over, disconnect it, connect the whole outfit.

"So, you're losing an hour a day."

Mr Pickering said his drivers were having to do that process up to 10 times a day.

"A dual-lane bridge would eliminate that," he said.